William Holden and Lee J. Cobb in "The Dark Past", and "20,000 Years in Sing Sing" starring Spencer Tracy and Bette Davis

Last night, we watched a picture called "The Dark Past"(1948), which began as a crime film then turned into a hostage drama, with an unlikely but compelling premise. The movie opens with a voiceover by "Dr. Andrew Collins" (Lee J. Cobb), a police psychiatrist, explaining the nature of his job. We see him reviewing a lineup of criminals, after which he remarks to a detective that one young punk can be saved from a life of crime, "if you'll let me talk to him". Already the film is setting up the idea that psychiatry cures all ills, and when the detective casts doubt about this, telling Dr. Collins that some criminals can't be reformed, the Doc shoots back with "they can be if they are young. Let me tell you the story of Al Walker". From there, we enter flashback mode, as Dr. Collins relates his ex-schperience with an escaped convict named Al Walker (William Holden). Collins is shown at home, at some time in the past, with his wife and young son. Prior to working for the police department, he was a psychology professor at a local college. Here, he's preparing for a vacation at his cabin in the mountains, and when he takes his family up there, it coincides with Al Walker's escape. We see Walker in his getaway car, with two fellow hoodlums, his moll (Nina Foch), and the prison warden, who's been forced along as Walker's hostage. When Walker asks where the hideout is gonna be, one of the hoods tells him it's a shack in the mountains. Walker says "that's the first place the cops will look, an empty shack. Are there any cabins near there"?

The hood answers, "yes, but they've got people in 'em." "All the better" says Walker. "Makes everything look normal." Thus, he and his gang of thugs pull a home invasion on Dr. Collins and his family, who have the unfortunate timing to arrive at their cabin on the night of Al Walker's escape, the news of which is on radio and in the evening paper.

The home invasion itself is scarily depicted, you can feel the fear of the Collins family and another couple, "Frank" and "Laura Stevens" (Adele Jurgens, Wilton Graff), who have driven up in a second car to spend the night. The Stevens' and Dr. Collins' professor pal "Dr. Linder" (Steven Geray), who's handy with guns and shows up later, are mostly red herrings, written in to fill time, as are two scullery maids whom the thugs tie up in the basement. The brunt of the story belongs to Dr. Collins and the killer Walker, with his girl Betty there for emotional support. Dr. Collins is the only one of the hostages who isn't terrified of Walker, who, as we have seen - because we watched him shoot the warden in the back - is a certified psychopath. But Dr. Collins is a professor of psychology, so he sits back and observes Walker, which drives Walker nuts. "Why are you so calm!?" he yells at Collins, who responds by leaning back and lighting his pipe, because it's in Lee J. Cobb's contract (have you ever seen Cobb without his pipe or a cigar? No you haven't; case closed). Collins tells Walker, "I'm calm because you're scared." This is where things get implausible, because any psycho worth his salt would've shut the hostage up, but this is 1948, when psychiatry was just gaining mass acceptance, and the filmmakers want to make a chess game out of it. In fact, they do that later on.

As it turns out, Walker has bad dreams, which he reveals to Dr. Collins when he tries to get some schleep during the long, unwinding night. Dreams are red meat to a shrink, so Collins homes in on this chink in Walker's tough guy armor. He coaxes Walker into describing his dream, over a game of chess, and this is when the wheels begin to fall off on Walker's effort to control the sitchy-ation. At first, he resists the doctor's attempts to psychoanalyse him, until Collin's tells him "you'll never be rid of your nightmares unless you let me help you, but you have to be truthful with me". Then they really get down to business, with Collins trying to figure out the symbolism of Walker's recurring dream.

It's not cut and dried; Walker keeps up his defiant facade throughout, telling Dr. Collins that psychology, or "mind games" as he puts it, is for "screwballs". But he really wants his nightmares to go away, so he allows Collins to question him about his childhood. Of course, this would never happen in a hostage situation in real life, it's almost like Stockholm Syndrome in reverse, but it makes for excellent drama, and you also have the side issues of Betty, Walker's hard-bitten girlfriend who loves him (though her character is only a sketch), and the friends who are staying at the cabin, the wife of whom is a flirtatious babe who will possibly cheat on her older husband with a younger man who's arrived. These diversions would've made interesting subplots, had the writer found a way to work them into the Psych Story. Also, Walker's hoods keep a lookout for a getaway boat that never arrives, and the scullery maids in the basement provide an important last minute twist.

It's really good stuff if you accept it for what it is. Walker's dream, and Dr. Collins' interpretation of it, has an Oedipal tinge that the filmmakers can only allude to because it's 1948. Lee J. Cobb does his Lee J. Cobb thing, as if the philosophical weight of the world is on his substantial shoulders, and William Holden makes a frightening if just-a-tad-too-jittery psycho, slightly unbelievable, but then aren't all psychos such? Two Big Thumbs Up for "The Dark Past". It's highly recommended and the picture is razor sharp.  ////

The previous night, we watched a prison flick called "20,000 Years in Sing Sing", an early effort from the legendary Michael Curtiz, whose 1955 film "The Scarlet Hour" we very much enjoyed a couple weeks ago. In this one, Spencer Tracy plays "Tommy Connors", a cocky, sharp dressed hoodlum who is headed for Sing Sing on a train. He brags to the coppers escorting him that he'll be bustin' out of there in no time. "The joint ain't been built that can hold me," he says. When they tell him he's never seen Sing Sing, he responds, "I don't care if it's sealed like an armored car, I'll find a way to crack it, and on the slim chance I don't, my lawyer has it all worked out anyway. So how do you like them apples, fellas?" Suffice it to say he's as arrogant as can be, and when he gets to the prison and has the mandatory meeting with the warden, he runs through the same spiel: "I'm different from all these other schmoes.You'll never break me. I don't want no prison job, neither! See these hands? Do they look like they got any callouses?" The warden just looks at him, as if to say : "I've seen every hard case in the world come through here, and they all break sooner or later. You think you're different? Guard, take him to his cell."

Connors complains when his prison uniform is two sizes too big. He refuses to wear it, so, using reverse psychology, the warden tells the guards, "fine, he doesn't have to wear it." Then he puts Connors to work in Sing Sing's ice house, wearing only his skivvies. This angers Connors (he freezes his butt off) and he refuses to come out of his cell. This leads to him being put in solitary, where, after a month, he agrees to break rocks. "Anything to get out of this box", he tells a guard. "But", he adds, "if the warden thinks he's got me down, tell him he ain't seen nothin'". You get where things are going by this point; Connors is an unrepentant con, a hard guy to the end, but then he gets a visit from a girlfriend we didn't know he had (a young Bette Davis in an emotionally charged performance). Seeing her in the visitor's room, Connors becomes tender. The acting here by Tracy and Davis is gripping; it's like Spencer really is in prison and Bette is distraught. Amazing acting, realistic without being Method. (and I like Method so don't get the wrong idea. But this is even realer!)

But back to the plot: Connors finds out that Bette is sleeping with his lawyer to get him out of prison on early release, but the lawyer is actually gonna do the opposite. He wants Connors to serve his full sentence because he has designs on Davis. Meanwhile, other convicts, led by Lyle Talbot, are planning a breakout. They make tools in the machine shop - a cell lock-breaker and a pig-iron gun from scrap metal - and pull their break in the middle of the night. But it's unsuccessful, and leads to several of the culprits being sent to death row, because two guards are killed.

Connors is not among the jailbreakers, which earns him points from the warden. Later, when Bette Davis is almost killed in a deliberately caused car accident by the lawyer, who now wants to get rid of her, the warden offers Connors a day pass to visit her in the hospital, for fear she is going to die. This is part of the warden's rehabilitation plan, to give certain men day passes as a chance to earn trust. Connors, whose arrogance is mostly gone by now, is grateful for the chance to visit Bette in the hospital. He promises to return to Sing Sing that night, but when Bette, in critical condition, tells him what the lawyer did, he plans revenge. Now, his parole might be at stake. Worse, he could end up on death row. 

I can't give away any more of the story, but "20,000 Years in Sing Sing" is a classic prison drama, full of other characters besides Tracy and Davis. The warden is played by Arthur Byron, an early actor who was born in 1872. His father was a stage actor named Oliver Dowd Byron, born in 1842, whose career dated to before the Civil War. So there's that Amazing Time Thing again, and the way time stands still, once it's been preserved in the movies. Two Big Thumbs Up for this one, but it's only available on dvd, Netflix or other services, not on Youtube. I got it from the Libe, don't miss it, it's highly recommended! //// 

And that's all I know. I'm still listening to Procul Harum, this time their live album and "Grand Hotel". So far, they're really good, especially Gary Brooker, but their style is a little hit-and-miss for me (too....what? Too plaintive? Too much like The Band? Wait a minute......I like The Band. Well, I sort of like them. Some of their music is too Coal Miner-ish.....or is that Gold Miner-ish? Probably I should shut up and just listen.) I know it's sacrilege to say so, but I'm not the world's biggest blues fan. I guess I was expecting the bulk of the Procul music to sound more like "Whiter Shade" (i.e. progressive), and some of it does, but other stuff is a bit too rootsy. Maybe it'll grow on me. And, I'm listening late night to Mahler's 7th (tra-MENN-duss!). And I just began reading "Last Train to Memphis" by Peter Guralnick, because of the Elvis movie, which I didn't review because I'm sure you just saw it. It was tra-MENN-duss, too!

I hope you had a nice day, and I send you Tons of Love as always!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)    

Anthony Booth in "The Hi-Jackers" (a Veddy Brrrittish! crime flick), and "Double Exposure" starring Chester Morris and Nancy Kelly

Last night, we found a Veddy Brrrittish crime thriller of the type we were watching a lot of last year, and boy, did they ever make some great ones in the early 60s. That was the height of the so-called Kitchen Sink era, which we talked about at that time (you'd have to look it up in my blogs from when we were on our John Mills kick), but at any rate - wow! what a find: "The Hi-Jackers"(1963), about a gang of robbers who are not unlike our stagecoach gangs from the Old West, except for one thing. Instead of riding out of the hills to rob their target, they plan out elaborate schemes to force lorry drivers to stop. In this case, they stage accidents and when the driver stops, the jack him and steal his truck, which they know in advance has freight with a lot of value. How do they know this? Someone with the scoop tips them off. As the movie opens, we see the gang, led by an older, sophisticated gent named "Carter" (Derek Francis), practicing in the road for their heist. They're out in the middle of nowhere, along the route the victim's lorry will take. It's said to be carrying a load of Johnny Walker worth 12 thousand pounds.

At a village cafe, we see the driver getting ready to make his run. He's sitting at a table with some union chaps, one of whom is complaining about all the hijackings that are taking place. "They oughta provide us with guards", the guy says. "Why should I risk my neck to a load of highwaymen? I'm not gettin' paid any extra." Our driver, whose name is "Terry" (Anthony Booth) is an independent trucker. He doesn't even have a company to back him up, but he shrugs off the threat. "I'm careful. I know not to stop for anyone, and I don't pick up chick hitchhikers cause them gangs use 'em as a ruse". Nevertheless, the waitress at the cafe, who Terry is friends with, asks him to give a ride to a young woman who's been sitting there all day long. She's clean cut but obviously down on her luck. The waitress feels sorry for her; will Terry give her a ride? He thinks of all the hijacking talk and turns the offer down, but later on, when he's driving, he sees the young woman walking on the road with her suitcase and feels bad for refusing her, so he pulls over and gives her a ride.

They make small talk, while in cross-cut scenes, we see the robbers setting up their phony auto accident roadblock, and communicating with walkie-talkies to ensure perfect timing (think Pelham 123). Terry is forced to stop his lorry when he comes to the "accident" (a motorcycle is staged to have collided with a car) and even though he suspects it's a trap, the gal (his passenger) implores him to get out and help. He does, and gets mugged. Then the robbers make off with his lorry. They drive it to a barn, offload the Johnny Walker, and their plan seems to have come off very well. But there's one snag - the robbers didn't expect Terry to have a passenger. And when they jacked him, she ran into Da Bushes (stay! out! da bushes!). They weren't able to catch her, and she got a good look at Carter, the older bald boss man, whom she describes to the police when they interview her and Terry.

He relates this detail to a fellow driver, that his passenger saw "a bald older gent", and the next thing you know, Terry gets a knock at the door of his apartment, where he's letting the girl stay, and some thugs burst in with stockings on their heads, and that's all I should really tell you. I'll give you a hint that, initially, the coppers accuse Terry of staging his own robbery. Because they don't believe him, he's forced to find the gang on his own. And there's also the threat posed by Carter apparently knowing where he lives. Man, this is one top notch crime film. The Brits were at the top of their cinematic game in those days. I think this flick may have influenced Scorsese, because the Taxi Driver soundtrack is similar (jazzbo saxophone) and especially the scene in the cafe, when Terry is talking to other drivers ("my man Travis is loa-ded, loa-ded"). I'll bet he saw "The Hi-Jackers", which gets Two Huge Thumbs Up. It's been restored and the picture is razor sharp, so don't miss it!  //// 

The previous night, our pal Chester Morris was back in a screwball crime comedy, but it wasn't a Boston Blackie. The movie was "Double Exposure"(1944), and this time, Chester is paired with a hugely talented actress named Nancy Allen instead of The Runt. Chester is the editor of a magazine called Flick, which presents sensationalised photos to accompany it's weekly stories of murders, plane crashes and mayhem, the juicier the better. When Flick's publisher - a fitness freak named "Mr. Turlock" (Richard Gaines) - sees a photo of a plane crash by "Pat Marvin" (Kelly), he tells Chester to call and hire her. She lives and works in Iowa with her erstwhile boyfriend "Ben" (Phillip Terry), who helps her concoct fake shots (and the airplane pic is a phony), but he's kind of a nerd, and she doesn't really love him. So, when she gets the call from Chester, and Ben tags along to New York, she introduces him as her brother. Chester thus sees no competition for her hand and puts the moves on her, while Ben fumes because he thinks Pat's in love with him. But all of this is in the background because Mr. Turlock wants to sell magazines. He passes out carrots to his staff to keep them in shape, and when he comes into the office, they'd better be doing their push-ups.

There's a possibility for a scoop with the latest marriage of millionaire "Sonny Tucker" (Charles Arnt). He's a serial womaniser who's on his seventh wife. But she's about to divorce him, just when Mr. Turlock the publisher decides to run a "mystery" issue of Flick, where readers have the chance to solve a fictitious crime. Pat and Chester decide to stage one by photographing a fake "murder" in Sonny Tucker's high-rise apartment, which they sneak into. They have Pat dress like Wife Number 7 and lay across the couch, to make it look like she's been found dead in the apartment. They take their pictures and leave, but then, lo and behiold, it happens for real! Wife Number 7 is found murdered, on the same couch, in the same clothes, laying in the same position. The cops show up and produce a police pic, which is identical to cover photo on Flick magazine, from an issue that has sold like hotcakes. "How did your photographer know about the murder before we did?" the coppers wanna know. Chester confesses: "We didn't know, we staged the photo". "Sure you did", the cops reply. "We think she killed her". They believe this because Pat danced with Sonny Tucker at a nightclub, to butter him up and get a scoop on his divorce.The cops think she's a gold digger who was trying to become Wife 8, and did away with Wife Number 7. The only one who can prove Pat's innocence is poor old goofy Ben, who helped her process the fake murder photo. But Chester, being jealous of Ben when he finds out he's not Pat's brother but her boyfriend, has sent him overseas, on an "emergency" photo assignment to Russia, sailing with the U.S. Navy. Pat rots in jail after being arrested for murder, and Ben's not available to prove her innocence. Then they get word that his ship was torpedoed. Now Pat is gonna go to The Chair. What a wind up!  With no witness to provide Pat an alibi, Chester has to figure out a way to catch the real murderer. He's in love with Pat and will do anything to save her, but will his efforts be in time?

Nancy Kelly is a comedic revelation, with a beautiful but expressive face that moves around like rubber. She's a riot in a modern way, like a cast member on SNL. She steals the show here, and Phillip Terry, who plays Ben, is perfect as well, as is Richard Gaines as Mr. Turlock the health nut. Chester Morris is great as always, holding down the fort with his rapid fire repartee and crack timing. Two Big Thumbs Up for "Double Exposure", which never lets up. It's highly recommended for top notch screwball, on a low budget film but with top talent. ////

And that's all I know for this evening. I'm listening to "Shine On Brightly" by Procul Harum, a band I only know from two songs ("Whiter Shade of Pale" and "Conquistador"). It's good, though a bit more bluesy than I was expecting. I'm also still on a Beggar's Opera kick, and I finally finished Paul McCartney's "The Lyrics", which is an absolute must-read. I hope your week is off to a good start, and I send you Tons of Love as always.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)     

Tim McCoy in "The Outlaw Deputy", and "Six Shootin' Sheriff" starring Ken Maynard

You can't go too long without watching a Tim McCoy movie, so we did just that with "The Outlaw Deputy"(1935), in which Tim goes straight to stop a payroll robbery gang. As the movie opens, he's part of a small time group of thieves who pull occasional jobs by robbing other criminals at their hideouts. Tim's gang lives outside society and they steal just enough to keep going, but one day, they take a bag containing a payroll shipment. Tim wants nothing to do with a rip-off of that magnitude, and he takes the bag back to town to turn it in. At the payroll office, he says he "found" the bag, and befriends a young clerk named "Chuck" (George Offerman Jr.). Tim offers to ride with Chuck on the next delivery, to protect him against another robbery, but Chuck turns him down, saying he'll be okay. Well, you can guess what happens; Chuck gets shot and dies. Tim finds him. The money is gone, and so is Chuck's prize watch, which he showed to Tim back in town. This is the last straw for Tim as far as his own crime career is concerned. He tells his old thief buddies that he's hanging up his hat. "I'm heading into town to find out who killed Chuck". He doesn't say what he's gonna do when he finds the killer.

When he gets to town, he stops at the saloon to size up the clientele. In any Western, you're gonna find some no-goodnicks in the bar, but this time it seems like they're filling the joint. It's like a Hell's Angels club meeting. They're trashing the place and laughing, throwing food around and terrorising the waitress. After they overturn all the tables and smash all the chairs, Tim pulls his pistol and stops them. "Get your wallets out, Gents. We're taking up a collection for all the furniture you ruined." They stop laughing and drop money into Tim's hat. The Sheriff hears about this, and asks Tim to become his deputy. "There's so many of those troublemakers, it's too much for one man." Tim at first demurs, thinking about his past. What if the Sheriff finds out he used to be a robber? But then the Sheriff's sweet daughter (Nora Lane) asks him to please help her Dad, and he can't say no. In no time, between the two of them, Tim and the Sheriff run the bad guys out of town. Tim posts a sign in front of the bar: "No guns allowed". We need him nowdays! He's also got his eye on a card-sharp who he suspects is double dealing. He can't prove it, but he's leaning on the guy, and he's still looking for the man (or men) who killed Chuck. Then, all of a sudden his old thief buddies pay him a visit. "We've got a job you can't turn down", they tell him, thinking he'll give up his commitment to the Sheriff. They figure, "once a thief, always a thief", but Tim won't bite, especially when they tell him they've graduated to stage robbery. "I'm not gonna help you", he says, "and don't let me catch you". The card-sharp overhears their conversation and learns that Tim used to be a criminal. Now he's out to blackmail Tim, to get him off his back, but Tim undercuts him by going to the Sheriff and confessing. "Yes, I was once a wanted man, but never for murder or bank robbery." He explains that he was a small-time thief. The Sheriff lets it go because Tim was honest, and he needs him.

But the card-sharp won't let the matter drop, and takes a potshot at Tim from behind a curtain. I can't tell you why, but there's a major twist. "The Outlaw Deputy" is one of the rowdier entries in the genre, and depicts what I imagine it was often like inside a bar in the Old West. I often equate the bad guys from that time as akin to the bikers of the 1960s, because of their nasty dispositions and total disregard for the law. This movie shows it. Then Tim McCoy shows up, and wouldn't it be great if we had a Tim McCoy in every town? Also turning in a fine performance is Nora Lane, who is fast becoming a Top Western Sweetheart. Two Big Thumbs Up for "The Outlaw Deputy". The picture is very good. ////

The previous night, we had the great Ken Maynard in "Six Shootin' Sheriff"(1938), which has a similar set-up to "Outlaw Deputy". As it opens, Ken, as "Jim 'Trigger' Morton", is just out of stir, after a stint for bank robbery. But he didn't do it; he was framed by a crook named "Ace Kendall" (Warner Richmond), so he rides back to town, where Ace is waiting at a card game. "Bring it on", says Ace in front of his honchos. "Yeah, I framed you, whatcha gonna do about it?" Then Trigger shoulder-shoots him and Ace shuts up. That's the last we hear from him, but the Bar-X ranch hands are a whole 'nuther matter. They're trouble, night in and night out, at the local saloon and around town. They've never heard of Trigger, so when he comes into the bar and orders a water (because he's trying to go straight), they make fun of him. One, named "Big Boy" (Richard Alexander), tries to roust him, and it's a mistake on all of their parts because they learn that he's not called Trigger for nothing (though he mostly shoots guns out of hands, so don't worry, he's not a killer).

His shootin's so good that old "Zeke" (Lafe McKee) is sent by the citizens to offer him the job of Sheriff. "Every Sheriff we've had is layin' up on Boot Hill, but you......you got somethin' ", Zeke tells him. Trigger can't believe they'd want him as Sheriff. Yes, he was framed by Ace Kendall, so on that score he's an innocent man, but he was still once an outlaw. "Why would you want me"?, he asks. "Because a man can change " is Zeke's answer. So, Trigger accepts the job and starts cleaning up the town. His first order of business is rousting the Bar-X gang from the saloon. He's so quick on the draw that they decide to play it straight after that. We never hear from them again. But there's one last hurdle from Trigger's past that won't be so easy to escape. His old gang is looking for him, led by "Chuck" (Walter Long), his former henchman, who has now co-opted Trigger's younger brother. Trigger does have some loyalty to Chuck, because Chuck provided the evidence that freed him from jail in the Ace Kendall frameup, but Chuck is still tied to gang life whereas Trigger wants to go straight. He rides out to meet Chuck and the gang, and tries to tell them, "I'm the Sheriff now. Please don't try to rob our town. I'm telling you this as your former partner and friend, but I'm the law. I'll arrest you if you come."

Chuck thinks he's bluffing or joking, and when Trigger leaves, he plans with his honchos the robbery of the post office, which is holding a huge payroll stash. Old Zeke has already asked Trigger to look after the postmistress "Rose Morgan" (Jane Keckley), whose sweet daughter "Molly" (Marjorie Reynolds) has a crush on Trigger. She does find an old Wanted poster of him, from when he was framed, and it disillusions her and makes her cry. But in the long run she retains her faith in him, because Mom says he's a changed man. But now his old gang, led by Chuck and including Trigger's brother, are gonna try to take the post office payroll and rob Rose Morgan . This will culminate in Trigger confronting them in the middle of the night, after Molly tries to stop the robbery by herself.

This is classic Ken Maynard, just White Hat against Black Hats, with no music or comic relief. His films usually featured sincerity as the lead quality, that's what Maynard's image was about. He was the ultimate "aww shucks ma'am" cowboy, who - even if his character had a criminal past - was always out to do the altruistic thing. He never was a ladies man, per se, and in this film he confesses women make him nervous, but that only draws Molly closer to him. She sweeps his floor and loves him from afar (in a great performance by Marjorie Reynolds in a small, low budget film), and the other noticeable thing, besides the lack of comedy (which is rare in a 60 minuter) is that there's nothing to do for Tarzan, Maynard's legendary trick horse. No rescues, no riderless runs; I hope he got a new agent after this role! Still, "Six Shootin' Sheriff" has one of the best and most layered scripts we've seen in a Ken Maynard film, and it gets Two Big Thumbs Up. The picture is very good. Maynard always presented good values and a Saturday Afternoon Matinee image for kids. He was the real deal. ////

That's all for tonight. I'm listening to "The Tain" by Horslips, and "Waters of Change" by Beggar's Opera, another great one by those guys. I hope you had a nice weekend and I send you Tons of Love as always.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Johnny Mack Brown in "Little Joe, the Wrangler", and "The Silver Bullet" starring Tom Tyler (plus Stuart Sutcliffe)

We're having a Johnny Mack Brown resurgence, and last night in "Little Joe, the Wrangler"(1942), he's out to stop whoever is robbing the ore shipments in the town of Lamplight. It's getting so bad that none of the ore is getting to the smelter. The owner fears he'll have to shut it down. There aren't even any suspects, which has led the citizens to call for the resignation of the Sheriff (Tex Ritter). A townsman asks that cooler heads prevail: "We elected him, let's give him one more chance". The citizens back down, but only on the condition that he produce results in four days, otherwise he'll be replaced. The Sheriff then heads out to the smelter to interview the owner, and while he's out there, a prospector (Johnny Mack) is brought in by the owner's henchmen. They claim he shot a miner named "Webb Hammond" (Robert F. Hill). They also produce gold belonging to Hammond that they say they found in JMB's saddle bag. This makes it look like he's behind all the ore robberies. The Sheriff is ready to arrest him, though Johnny says he's innocent and being framed. The Sheriff says "that's for a jury to decide". Then he brings Johnny back to town and puts him in jail. Soon, a Lench Mob arrives to string him up.

For the Sheriff, the results save his job, but he's starting to believe Johnny Mack is innocent. Johnny asks him to go find his horse; "my I.D. papers should be in the saddle bag". But they aren't, and as an aside, this presents an interesting point about I.D. Before photography, how did anyone know a person was who they said they were? Not that it's much better now, but at least we have photos (which can be photoshopped, I know), but back then, an I.D. paper only had a man's description, provided and signed off on by a reliable witness, often a person of stature. In the movie, when Sheriff Tex can't find Johnny's papers, Johnny then breaks his cover and confesses that he isn't a prospector but is really the vice president of the Monarch Mining Company, sent out to solve the problem of the ore thefts. But because his I.D. is missing, "Janet Hammond" (Jennifer Holt) still thinks he's the robber who killed her Dad. Johnny has to find his papers, which he does with the help of Fuzzy Knight, who plays "Little Joe", the Wrangler of the title. Fuzzy is indeed the local horse wrangler, but he's also an amateur inventor, whose latest contraptions are a horse-throw prevention device, and a pair of wings that he uses to attempt to fly.

Fuzzy does his comic relief bit, which is as good-natured and broad-based as usual (and bruising), and The Jimmy Wakely Trio, as in most of Johnny Mack's films, provides the music. Tex Ritter sings a song at the end, and gets in the requisite punchouts with Johnny Mack. You know how, on Star Trek, it's required in every episode that Spock rebels against Jim, that Chekov stages a mutiny, and that Sulu goes stark raving insane? Well, in the Johnny Mack Brown Westerns in which Tex Ritter co-stars, it's de rigueur that they have at least two fistfights before becoming allies. And you always get Fuzzy Knight as the goofy sidekick. The Universal Studios JMBs always have a layered script, and this time you get the lovely Jennifer Holt and Florine McKinney as sweet "Mary Brewster", the Sheriff's daughter. The only thing missing is a top notch villain, so you'll have to settle for henchman Slim Whitaker, who's behind the frameup of Johnny for murder. Ultimately, Sheriff Tex frees Johnny, and they team up to nab the Travis Gang, who're working for the local big shot "Chapin" (James Craven), who is trying to take over the mines. Two Big Thumbs Up for "Little Joe, the Wrangler". The picture is soft but watchable. ////

The previous night, we had another good one from Tom Tyler called "The Silver Bullet"(1935). Outlaw "Slim Walker" (George Chesbro) and his two pals "Pete" (Lew Meehan) and "Scurvy" (Slim Whitaker) are looking to get drunk and cause trouble. They ride in to Chico, stop at the bar and stick around to shoot the place up. Slim gets a kick out of terrorizing the citizens, and they do so until "Tom Henderson" (Tyler) stops by. He's a surveyor, on his way to look at some land, and when he bumps into Scurvy while entering the General Store, Scurvy tries decking him, which is not a good idea with Tom Tyler. He k.o.'s Scurvy, then goes inside the store to find Slim and Pete strong- arming the proprietress "Nora Kane" (Jayne Regan) into giving them free goods. Tom doesn't go for hoodlums who pick on ladies, so he shows them them the door in a most abrupt way. They retreat to the bar (again) and vow revenge on Tom, but sweet Nora is grateful for his help, and introduces him to her father, "Dad Kane" (Lafe McKee), who is blind.

Dad publishes the local paper in Chico, and decries the lack of law and order. He's been writing editorials about Slim and his gang, and since they arrived, the residents of Chico have been in their houses for five days running, so afraid are they to go outside. Tom thinks this is terrible and wishes he could do something. "You can" says Dad Kane. "You can be our new Sheriff". Tom doesn't want to; he's got land to survey, and not only that, but he's got a mule named Mary who requires a lot of attention because she's addicted to chewing tobacky: one pound a day! Dad tells Tom that he and Nora will keep Mary in chaw - "all she needs!" - if Tom will reconsider and become Sheriff. And he does.

The first person he meets on the job is the town banker, Charles King. We've said this before about early King roles, but this time he really is at his thinnest and cleanest. You'll have to see it to believe it! King tells Tom he's taking a chance by becoming Sheriff: "You know, that Slim Walker, he'll shoot you. They'll be carrying you out of the Sheriff's office feet first." Tom replies that he ain't skeered, and that "feet first" is the only way to go. King, in his role as a "legitimate" town leader, is doing his devil's advocate thing here. We already know he's gonna be implicated in the outcome, he's Charles King after all, the only bad guy who never ever played a good guy (so far as I know), but this time he's really, really trying to appear legit. Therefore, he first sows doubt in Tom Tyler's mind, and when Tom replies that he'll clean up the town in spite of Slim, King says "well in that case I wish you well", but he's such a good actor that the cynicism comes through. He actually wishes Tom nothing but death.

Meanwhile, we see Dad Kane practicing with his pistol at home, shooting cans. He's blind, so Tom can't believe he can hit anything, but sweet daughter Nora tells him that Dad shoots by sound. His assistant taps the cans with a stick and Dad fires away, he's a crack shot. In flashback, Dad tells Tom the story about how he was blinded by a gold robber, and his wife was killed in the process. He vowed ever since then to be ready for the killer "because I know I will see him again".

For a 51 minute movie, there's a truckload of stuff going on. Tom jails Slim Walker, but Scurvy and some other honchos from outside of town organize a jailbreak by posing as United States Marshals. They dupe Tom by calling on the phone to arrange a midnight meeting to transfer Slim to state prison, to avoid a Lench Mob. But in reality it was Charles King who made the call. He's about to have his own bank robbed, to keep the money and blame the robbery on Tom, who he's framing to make it look like Tom was behind Slim's jailbreak! I hope that's not too confusing, but in the movie it plays well, and is one of the best frame ups in the history of Charles King. Two Big Thumbs Up for "The Silver Bullet". The picture is very good. Not a bad double bill, eh? Tom Tyler and Johnny Mack, two of our three very best. ////

That's all I know for tonight. I'm listening to "Act One" by Beggar's Opera, which as the title suggests is their first album. I'd only ever heard their masterpiece "Pathfinder", and "Get Your Dog Off Me", but this is a good one, too. I've also been listening to Wagner's "Der Miestersinger" (over the course of four nights), and I've finished reading "The Beatles' Shadow: Stuart Sutcliffe and his Lonely Hearts Club" by Pauline Sutcliffe (his sister), and I've got to say, it's one of the most affecting Beatles books I've ever read. We only ever think of Stuart Sutcliffe as this mysterious figure, a mythical Man of Cool, who quit The Beatles to pursue a career as an artist. He had the image of a foreign existentialist, inspired by his German girlfriend Astrid Kircherr, and he was all of those things, but as his sister writes it, he was also a kid, a nice Scottish boy just out of high school, like the rest of The Beatles, who became friends with John Lennon and then joined the band before they went to Hamburg. In fact it was Stu who named The Beatles, thinking Johnny and The Moondogs sounded too old fashioned. You really get a full picture of him in this book, and how his death at 21 affected his family. There's a revelation about his demise that is extremely disturbing. I won't reveal it, but you can Google it, or perhaps you already know. I neither believe nor disbelieve what Pauline says about this, in truth it's just all so tragic. He and John lived only 61 years between them, one less year than I've been alive now. One thing I do know after reading this book, which gives an incredible early history of The Beatles, is that from now on I will always think of Stu Sutcliffe as an integral member of the group, and Pete Best, too, for that matter. Neither of them were just side notes, and Stu wasn't just some mysterious artist. I can't recommend the book highly enough; it's essential if you're a Beatles fan.

I hope you are enjoying the start of your weekend, and I send you Tons of Love as always.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)   

Sonia Dresdel in "The Third Visitor" (Veddy Brrrittish!), and "A Distant Trumpet" starring Troy Donohue and Suzanne Pleshette

Last night, we watched a Veddy Brrrittish murder mystery called "The Third Visitor"(1951), in which a wealthy businessman is murdationed in his mansion. We believe we know who did it, for we are there in the room when he's killed. The killer is a mobster, fronting for his boss, who was demanding a big blackmail payoff from the dead man, "Mr. Carling" (Karel Stepanek). But Carling was blackmailing the mob boss, too, and that's when things got ugly, or so it seems. But "Inspector Mallory" (Guy Middleton), who's investigating the case, isn't buying it. The details aren't adding up. For one thing, he finds out that Carling has a secret chamber in his house, and that he tried to wall in the man who built it for him, so that no one would ever know it was there.

The star of the movie is a terrific actress named Sonia Dresdel. She plays "Steffi Millington" a charming but hawklike fashion model married to a fumbling author. On the night of the murder, they are visited by "Vera Kurton" (Eleanor Summerfield), the wife of Mr. Carling's business partner "Jack Kurton" (Hubert Gregg). Vera is very flustered to find out that her hubby was the last person to see Carling alive. She doesn't know about the mobster (only the audience does) and is worried that Jack will be implicated. Steffi Millington gives her an alibi and tells her to stick with it if the police come. Steffi is trying to protect the Kurtons, but why? It seems like she knows something we don't. Later, Inspector Mallory finds out about Jack Kurton's visit to see Mr. Carling. This destroys Vera's alibi and shines a spotlight on Steffi Millington, who - as it turns out - was having an affair with Mr. Carling, who was an unsavory character to say the least. She knows about the man who built his secret chamber. He's recently been released from an asylum for the criminally insane. The police know nothing about him, and Steffi tries to deflect their attention away by telling them he's been declared harmless. She trying to buy time so she can sneak over to Carling's mansion. But why? Is she in cahoots with the mobster? Is she trying to cover up evidence that the police have not yet found? "The Third Visitor" has the kind of odd characters you'd see in an Agatha Christie movie, but the style is British Noir. Every time Inspector Mallory turns up, there's another twist to the plot, but the real whopper is the ending. In the last three minutes you'll be thrown for several loops. The essential thing is Vera's alibi, and the writing on the wall in Carling's living room. Sonia Dresdel knocks it out of the park as Steffi. Two Huge Thumbs Up for "The Third Visitor". The picture is very good. ////

Because the previous night was the 4th of July, I didn't watch a movie (OMG! how did the Universe not collapse?), but luckily for all of us (and the Universe), I do have a motion picture in reserve, one that I watched as part of a dubble feechum a week or so ago, called "A Distant Trumpet"(1964). I got it on dvd from the Libe, after doing a search on Raoul Walsh films. It's what they call a Cavalry Western. Troy Donohue stars as "Lieutenant Matt Hazard", a West Point-trained officer called to Fort Delivery, an outpost in the Arizona desert, to shore up discipline and lead the hunt for "Chief War Eagle", the last of the Apache holdouts. War Eagle and his tribe of Chiricahuas are rebelling against the relocation of all American Indians that took place in the 1880s. They're thought to be in Mexico, and "General Quaint" (James Gregory), would just as soon let them stay there, but War Eagle is sending warriors across the border on hit-and-run missions against the settlers, who he feels are on his land. The latest strike is an attack on a stagecoach. "Lt. Manwaring" (William Reynolds), is sent out to rescue the survivors, but he and his men are also killed by Apaches lying in wait. Now the War Department gets involved. The Indian Wars were supposed to be over, but the Secretary of War (Kent Smith) wants War Eagle dead. General Quaint argues against this, because it will inflame other tribes who have agreed to the resettlement. He is also a comrade of War Eagle's from battles past. Not friends, perhaps, but not enemies either. Gen. Quaint decides to send Lt. Hazard on a secret mission into Mexico to make peace with War Eagle, by promising him safe passage by the Army if he'll agree to settle in his former homeland. Quaint includes a guarantee that the reservation will be on Chiricahua land. But the thing is, he doesn't yet have the approval of the War Secretary to make such a promise. It's up to Lt. Hazard to sell it by convincing War Eagle, in order to bring an end to the Indian Wars. 

The movie was based on (according to Wiki) an historically accurate book, and it's very well done, but because it's an A-list picture (with tremendous landscape photography), the studio must've felt the need to take advantage of Troy Donohue's hunk status, by including a romantic triangle. Now, we all love Suzanne Pleshette, and she's good here as always as the widow of the slain Lt. Manwaring. But there's little reason to have her fall for Lt. Hazard, especially with such a historic tale being told, other than to pad the running time (sell more popcorn, perhaps?), and then on top of that, Lt. Hazard has a wife, whose father just so happens to be.......you guessed it : General Quaint. The thing is, she hates the Indians but her Pa is trying to make peace with them. She shows up to find Hazard in Pleshette's arms. All it does is add 30 minutes to a movie that would've been perfect at 85 minutes. Had it been pared down (and also some of the boot-camp discipline stuff; we get it, the enlisted men hate the West Pointer), director Walsh would've had a minor classic. Instead, because of the bloat, it gets docked from Two Huge down to Two Big Thumbs. It's still a definite recommendation though, for the history and the awesome photography. It's on dvd so the picture is razor sharp of course, but you can't find it for free on Youtube. You've gotta use the Libe or Netflix, or some other service, but it's definitely a good one. ////

And that's all I know for tonight. I'm listening to the first Egg album (a classic) and I send you Tons of Love as always!  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)    

Tim McCoy in "Six Gun Trail", and "Diamond Trail" starring Rex Bell (Happy 4th of July!)

Last night we had another good one from Tim McCoy called "Six Gun Trail"(1938), in which he does one of his dual role incognito personas, this time as a Chinese curio shop owner. If you can picture McCoy going the Charlie Chan route, then you'll know it's a riot, and as you'll see when you watch the movie, it's all in the name of catching bad guys who are running a jewelry schmuggling operation. As it opens, Tim's partner "Magpie" (Ben Corbett) is in the post office when he sees a customer being kidnapped after trying to send a package. In the back room, we see a number of other kidnapped patrons. Ted Adams and the other postal workers are tying anyone up who tries to mail diamonds. Talk about going postal! Then two of the hostages break free and a three way shoot out takes place, involving Magpie as the third party.

A hostage is killed, so Magpie informs Tim, who is once again playing Lightning Bill Carson, federal agent and Master of Disguise. That's when Lightning Bill decides to impersonate a Chinese businessman who is willing to buy stolen diamonds. His act leads him to "Midge" (Nora Lane), a singer who is working for the bad guys. She actually knows Lightning Bill; he recommended her for parole during her last jail stint. Now she's the chanteuse at the local watering hole (and you also get to hear a great yodeling song by Hal Carey). Anyhow, "Wilson" (Stephen Chase), the saloon owner behind the postal scheme, sends Midge to be the first guinea pig to sell diamonds to "Sam Sung" (lol), the new-in-town Chinese shop owner. She notices something funny about him, but doesn't discover that he's Agent Carson.

Now, Wilson and his henchman, postal worker Ted Adams, are feeling sorry for Magpie after they clean him out in an all night card game. They don't know he's Lightning Bill's partner, and that he's sharking them, so they send him to work as an assistant to their new "Chinese" friend Sam Sung, who is buying their stolen diamonds. Sung, who's really Lightning Bill, is buying the diamonds to use them as evidence when he lowers the boom on Wilson and Ted Adams. This one is all about Tim McCoy's Charlie Chan impersonation, and as usual, he's a card sharp too, taking Wilson and Adams to the cleaners and getting Magpie his money back in the process. "Six Gun Trail" gets the requisite Two Big Thumbs, but an extra high recommendation for McCoy's dual performance. Don't miss it, the picture is very good. ////

The previous night we saw a Hybrid Western called "Diamond Trail"(1933), starring Rex Bell as a hotshot newspaper reporter who infiltrates a racketeer's gang. What's so Western about that, you say? Well, hang on a minute. You're right, it's not super Western, just enough to qualify as a hybrid, but it does have a Western element, so stop interrupting and let me tell it whydoncha? Bell plays "Speed Morgan", who's out trolling the city, looking for a scoop, when he finds himself in the middle of a stakeout. Police are lying in wait for "Flash Barrett" (Lloyd Whitlock) and his gang, and when they emerge from their warehouse hideout, Barrett's henchman is shot dead. Barrett himself narrowly escapes, and only because Speed, lurking nearby and seeing an opportunity, jumps out and saves him, pulling him out of harm's way and into a local bar. The rest of Barrett's henchmen follow, and Speed, thinking quickly, introduces himself as "Frisco Eddie", a hoodlum who's admired Flash from afar and has always wanted to join his gang. Because Flash has just lost his bodyguard, who was killed in the police ambush, he makes Frisco Eddie his new right hand man, and Speed, as Frisco, now has an "in" to the gang, and a front row seat for the scoop of a lifetime.

The shcript doesn't develop much from there, except that Flash has a means to fence the diamonds he and his gang steal, by way of an elaborate mail scheme. Flash mails the hot rocks, in envelopes, to a cowboy who lives in Chatsworth Park with his sister. There's your Western Element right there. The cowpoke gets a payment for receiving the envelopes, but he's instructed never to open them. When Speed confides in the sister that he's really a reporter, she asks for his help in freeing her brother from this scam. She hasn't trusted Flash Barrett from the get go. Speed agrees to help the brother, but then Flash finds Speed's press badge in his laundry. He's been wondering about "Frisco" for a while now, and whether he's really legit,  because the supposed hoodlum (now Flash's bodyguard) orders only buttermilk whenever they go to a bar. But it works because Rex Bell has that All-American face that makes him look like a buttermilk guy. Both of this blog's movies involve diamond schmuggling rings and could be watched as a double bill. As with "Six Gun Trail", the best part of "Diamond Trail" is the lead performance by its star Rex Bell. We weren't sure about him at first but have become big fans, and he shows range here as a wise guy reporter instead of his usual cowboy role. Two Big Thumbs Up for "Diamond Trail", the picture is soft but watchable. ////

I hope you had a nice 4th of July. I went for a hike, then this eve I went to the top of the CSUN parking garage, where I've taken many a sunset picture, to watch fireworks from all over the Valley. My friend Ono came with me, and from our perch on the top of the building we saw literally dozens of neighborhood fireworks shows erupting all over the place, from close by in Northridge, all the way to the south in towns like Woodland Hills and Canoga Park. I've never seen so many fireworks in my life. Having said that, I hope the good folks who set them off will make it a one-night affair, and keep it to July 4th, for the sake of the dogs and cats (and all animals), and just for safety in general.

That's all I know for tonight. I'm listening to the Concord Sonata by Charles Ives and I send you Tons of Love as always!  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

What a Plot! John Beal in "Key Witness", and "Cavalier of the West" starring Harry Carey

Last night's movie was "Key Witness" (1947). What should we call it? A Noir? A black comedy? An ironic crime fantasy? Take your pick. I mean, good grief: we've had some crazy plots before, but this one takes the cake! It reminds me of that song "I'm My Own Grandpa", except in this case, a man almost gets executed for murdering himself. Ha! It begins in the style of a TV sitcom, complete with "gee whiz, honey, I'm home" acting, and breezy music. "Milton Higby" (John Beal) is a draftsman working in downtown Los Angeles, who, in his spare time on the job, is always creating goofy gadgets, like a talking clock, or a kissing-couple light switch. His supervisor puts up with it, but his wife (Barbara Read) is always nagging him cause he's passive and never gets a raise. But Milton doesn't care because he's an artsy, non-materialistic guy. "Larry" (Jimmy Lloyd), his pal at work, is always trying to get him to live it up a little. Larry knows that Milton is henpecked, so when Milton's wife goes out of town for a weekend, Larry asks him to go to the track. Larry brings along two dames, and lo and behold, Milton gets lucky and wins the Daily Double. Out of the blue, he's rich. The foursome head back to Milton's house where they celebrate with too much champagne, and soon Milton is hammered and needs a nap. Larry and his girl leave, and ask the spare girl to stay with Milton and watch over him until they get back, but while they're out, the gal's estranged hubby shows up, starts an argument, and shoots her. How he found her at a total stranger's house wasn't explained.

At any rate, when Milton wakes up, hungover, he's got a dead woman in his living room. Thinking he'll be accused of murder, not only by the cops but his nagging wife too, he decides to split the scene. The next we see him, he's a vagabond riding the rails. I'd love to tell you more than that, but because this movie is so unique, I won't (and I hope you even forget what I've already told you). This is the perfect example of a high-concept script, except that it's actually good (most deliberately clever scripts are not). Early on, you might be thinking, "what kind of crime film is this?", with the whimsical Happy Husband routine being played. But as it builds, and the guy ends up almost going to the chair for murdering himself, and then there's a twist on top of that, you've gotta hand it to the screenwriter, who really worked every detail of this freakin' thing out. I mean, it just gets nuttier and more clever as it goes along. Wish I could tell ya more, but I just can't. Two Huge Thumbs Up for "Key Witness", which is absolutely not to be missed. The picture is razor sharp. //// 

Now then, are you ready for the return of the great Harry Carey? Man, when was the last time we saw him? And it hasn't been for lack of trying; we just couldn't find any of his films that we hadn't seen. But two nights ago we finally did, and in "Cavalier of the West"(1931) Harry is leading an Army troop through Placerita Canyon when they come across a gang of robbers chasing Indians. Because the Army is trying to keep peace with the tribe, Carey has the white men arrested (much to their chagrin) and besides, he's a law and order military man. And, the Indian "White Feather" (P. Narcha) is his friend. The break up of the robbery gang (who were stealing gold and horses from the Indians) leads "Lee Burgess" (Ted Adams) to very much resent Harry Carey. Burgess is the foreman on the ranch of "Don Fernandez" (Paul Panzer). Come to think of it, we haven't had a ranch foreman as the bad guy in a while. But Adams, as usual, is running the operation from behind the scenes. He's not the Snidely Whiplash of Westerns for nuthin', and now, he's extra resentful of Carey, because, Don Fernandez's charming daughter "Delores" (Carmen LaRoux) seems sweet on Carey, though he's older. Adams fancies Delores too, but what he really wants is the Indian's gold, which Carey has put out of reach by arresting his gang of robbers. Then word comes that Carey's brother is coming to town. "Lieutenant Wilbur Allister" (Kane Richmond) is an incorrigible soldier. The army is sending him to Carey in the hope that Harry can control him and get him to dry out, and after he arrives, it seems to be working. Delores Fernandez is enchanted with Wilbur, who's closer to her in age, and that's fine with Harry. He just wants Wilbur to stay sober.

But Ted Adams and his henchman "Red" (Maston Williams) pay the bar gal "Chiquita" (a great and funny Chilean actress named Christina Montt) many pesos to get Wilbur drunk. He's got an alcohol reputation to begin with, and this disgraces him in the eyes of his brother Harry Carey. Then, Adams goes for the Coop de Grass. He pays a Bandito to come into the bar and start a fight with Wilbur, while Chiquita is getting him drunk again. Offscreen we hear a shot, and the Mexican fight-starter has been killed. Chiquita swears that the shooter was Wilbur, and while we know he was set up, Harry Carey has to prove it at a trial. From here, the movie becomes a courtroom drama, and one scene that is spectacular is when he cross-examines Chiquita the bar girl. We know her as a good-time gal, not trampy but fun, and funny. She likes to drink and gamble, but she's nice. However, she's gotten in over her head with Ted Adams and the bad guys, and has accepted a payoff to set Wilbur up. When Carey questions her on the stand, she breaks down and drops her facade, and we see the real person. The actress nails it, it's a great early sound scene. Speaking of which, the movie was made in 1931, and the weird pauses in dialogue are there again, that we've noted in other early sound era Westerns. Thus far we've chalked it up to the limitations of early sound equipment, but it would be interesting to know the specifics. Two Big Thumbs Up for "Cavalier of the West". It reminds us just how great Harry Carey is, and that we need more of him, so let's keep looking for his movies. ////

That's all for tonight. I finished reading the Tony Iommi book and I've just started a new biography of Stuart Sutcliffe, the early member of The Beatles who died in 1962 at the age of 21. I just got it this afternoon from the Libe and I'm already forty pages in. I'm still hooked on Dio music and am listening to "Strange Highways" as I write this. I hope you are enjoying your weekend and looking forward to the Fourth of July, always one of my favorite holidays. I send you Tons of Love as always!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)